Ann Arbor's Lower Town work to peak by fall

Courtesy of Strathmore Development Co.Lower Town architectural rendering.

Ambitious project scheduled to open in 2010

With the ceremonial shovels turned Jan. 10 at Broadway Village at Lower Town, Clark Construction Co. is now pressing ahead on a bullish construction schedule it hopes will have the $171 million project opened in 2010.

Strathmore Development Co. estimates it will take about 30 months and 6,000 personnel hours to complete the project, which includes 152,689 square feet of medical and office space, 138,275 square feet of retail and 185 apartments.

It also has a 760-car parking structure.

Robert Ramey | Ann Arbor Business ReviewThe future site of Broadway Village at Lower Town, in Ann Arbor.

Clark is setting up several milestones it hopes will keep construction work on schedule. It plans to remove contaminated soil in the next month, and then begin foundation soon after, said Kenneth Lawless, Clark vice president.

He expects buildings could start to rise in mid-fall. During peak construction periods - late fall 2008 and early winter 2009 - Clark said there will be 200-300 workers onsite.

It's a challenging project because his company is charged with building nine structures on a relatively compact, 7.3-acre site, he said. The company is working out logistics issues so work goes smoothly. Lower Town is also located on a fairly busy corner, Plymouth Road and Maiden Lane, just north of the University Hospitals.

Most of the project's cost is for the construction contract, and Clark's work is expected to reshape the part of Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan's North Campus.

"We see this as a signature project not only for Ann Arbor, but for the state of Michigan and Clark Construction," Lawless said.

Clark Construction, a 62-year-old firm based in Lansing, is also working the Crossroads Village, a 320,000-square-foot retail project in Canton.

Though several luminaries, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO James Epolito were on hand for the groundbreaking, work has actually been underway since November. The early tasks will focus on cleaning up the site. Officials decline to reveal the subcontractor performing the brownfield work.

The state chipped in a $4.5 million brownfield Single Business Tax credit. The project also received a $96.4 million tax capture, $700,000 brownfield redevelopment grant and a $300,000 brownfield redevelopment loan.

"I think this project in particular is right in the sweet spot of what we should be doing," Granholm said.

The construction is being financed through Key Bank and National City. Morgan Stanley and United Bank & Trust are also part of the funding.

Lower Town, one of the most anticipated and debated projects in recent memory, took nearly nine years to move forward.

"We always knew this project was in the best interest of the city," said Scott Chappelle, president of Strathmore Development Co. in East Lansing.